Sprinkler head



Nov. 21, 1961 1 M 'HAI-r 3,009,648

SPRINKLER HEAD Filed July 7, 1958 INVENTOR JAMES M. HAIT ATTORNEY 3,009,648 SPRELJKLER HEAD James M. Halt, San Jose, Calif., assigner to FMC Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed July 7, 1958, Ser. No. 746,955 6 Claims. (Cl. 239-201) The present invention relates to irrigation systems and more particularly to sprinkler heads for use in such systems.

As is well known in the art, sprinkler heads are employed in irrigation systems for the purpose of distributing water over the widest possible ground area. Such sprinkler heads are ordinarily installed at spaced positions along an irrigation pipeline. The area which receives Water from each sprinkler head will usually have the shape of a circle, the center thereof being coincident with the vertical axis of the sprinkler head.

In the case of sprinkler heads which heretofore have been commonly employed in irrigation systems, the extent of distribution of the water has been determined largely by the pressure and the angle at which the heads discharge the water. Sprinkler heads are known, which have rotatable nozzles for rotating the jet of Water. However, their cost is often prohibitive for irrigation systems requiring a large number of sprinkler heads, and serious maintenance problems often arise in their use.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved sprinkler head.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler head of low cost and requiring little or no maintenance.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler head, having a minimum of moving parts, for projecting a jet of water in a rotating stream.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description thereof, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a side elevation of a sprinkler head constructed in accordance with the invention and attached to a section of irrigation piping.

FIG. 2 is a top plan of the sprinkler head of FlG. l, a jet of water being shown discharging from the sprinkler head.

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2. Y

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical section taken the lines 4-4 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, illustrating a different operational position of the Vsprinkler head.

Referring to the drawings, and particularly to FIG. 1, a sprinkler head is shown, connected in conventional manner at 12 to an lirrigation pipeline 14. The sprinkler head 10 comprises a vertically extending conduit 16 (FGS. 3, 4 and 5) constructed of any suitable rigid material, preferably a metal. The wall of the conduit 16 is enlarged at its lower end 18, and is there externally threaded `for connection with the pipeline 14'. The bore 20 of the conduit 16 may be of any desired diameter, depending upon the design of the irrigation system of which the pipeline 14 is a part. At its upper end, the bore 20 is narrowed by an annular flange 22 extending inwardly from and integral with the wall of the member 16. 1mmediately below the ilange 22, the bore 20 is lined with an insert 24, preferably of rubber. The insert 24 provides a channel 25 which is coaxial with the bore 2t). A short distance above its lower enlarged end portion 18, the conduit 16 is formed with an outwardly projecting annular ilange 26.

A discharge nozzle 28 for the sprinkler head 10 is provided in the form of an outer tubular member or sleeve 3l), mounted upon the conduit 16, the lower end 29 of along Patented Nov.' 21,1951

ECC.

the nozzle 28 being formed to tightly grip the ilange 26. The side Wall 30 of the nozzle 28, which isconstructed of a material such as rubber having a moderate degree of llexibility, is outwardly flared at its upper end 31. A plug 32 for the nozzle 28, having the general form of an inverted cone, is supported in position by three struts 34 spaced equally therearound and extending between said plug and the wall portion 31 (FIGS. 2 and 3). The plug 32and struts 34 are preferably constructed of the same material as that of the wall 38, and may be integrally forrned with the latter. Each of the three side wall areas 38 of the plug 32., extending between the supporting struts 34, is concave between the lower tip 36 of the plug and the upper llat top thereof. The side wall areas 38 are spaced from the outwardly flared wall portion 31 to provide an upwardly and radially outwardly extending discharge passageway 39.

The plug 32 supports nine vanes 40, which project outwardly from the concave surface of the plug, three of the vanes being equally spaced along each of the wall areas 38 (FIGS. l and 2). Each of the vanes 4G is curved away from the radial plane passing through its inner end and all vanes curve in the same direction as may be seen in FIG. 2.

The nozzle 28 is so constructed that it is normally inclined to one side, and that the tip 36 of the plug 32 is slightly off-center with respect to the axis of the bore 2li and channel 25. l This normal direction of inclination of the nozzle 28 is opposite to the direction of the view in FIG. 3. When a stream of water 42 (FIG. 4) is directed upwardly through the bore 20 of the conduit 16, it will be concentrated into a jet as it passes through the channel 25' of the insert 24. .The jet 44 will then strike one of the wall areas 38 of the plug 32, will be deilected from its normal upward course, and will be directed upwardly and radially outwardly through a portion 39a of the passageway 39'. At the same time, the

vplug 32 will be moved from its normal position to the position ythereof shown in FIG. 4, in which the bottom tip 36 is directly above a point along the peripheral wall of the chamel 25 .of the insert 24.

The upwardly and outwardly flowing jet 44 will be further deilected by any of the vanes 4l) which it contacts, the deilection here being in a generally clockwise curved direction as viewed in FIG. 2 through that portion 39b of passage 39 that is between adjacent vanes. As the jet leaves the sprinkler head, a reaction force, acting in a direction 'opposite to the direction of jet discharge will be imparted to the vanes 40 contacted by the jet, and thus to the plug 32 and to the upper end 31 of the nozzle 28. Since the nozzle 28 is secured at its lowerend 29 to the stationary flange 26 of the conduit 16, its upper end 31, together with the plug 32, will then move a short distance, to the left of outwardly flowing jet 44 as viewed in FIG. 2. As a result, the jet 44 will strike a somewhat changed surface area of the plug 32, and successive vanes 40. At the same time, the tip 36 of theplug will move a short distance in its position with respect to the wall of the channel 25. The movement of plug 32 will be constant, and the tip 36 will consequentlyrevolve about the axis of the sprinkler head.

16 (FIGS. 4 and 5). The vanes cause the nozzle to be continually revolved about the axis of the sprinkler head. FIG. 5 illustrates the changed position of the nozzle 28 and plug 32 after a revolution of 180 of the tip 36 from its position in FIGS. 2 4.

While one embodiment of the present invention Vis described herein, it should be noted that various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A sprinkler head comprising a rigid tubular conduit having a discharge opening for supplying an upwardly directed stream of fluid, a sleeve member having one end thereof operably connected to said conduit and having a Haring discharge opening in its other end free to gyrate about said tubular conduit, said rigid tubular conduit being a center guide for said sleeve member during such gyration thereof, a conical deiiector connected across the aring discharge opening of said sleeve member and having a concave deiiecting surface adjacent said daring opening defining a passageway for redirecting said stream outwardly at a predetermined discharge angle, and a plurality of vanes projecting from said concave surface of the deector and curving from vertical planes which include the axis of said deector, said vanes being arranged for intercepting a portion of the discharging fluid to cause the conical deflector to follow a. circular path around said upwardly directed stream and thereby cause said outwardly redirected stream to continually move in a circular path.

2. A sprinkler head comprising a tubular member having an opening for discharging a stream of iluid in an upward direction, a sleeve surrounding and connected at one end to said tubular member and having a flaring discharge end, a detiector spaced apart from and connected to said daring discharge end of the sleeve, said deector being conical and having a concave surface cooperating with the flaring end of said sleeve to dene a passageway for directing the stream outward at a predetermined discharge angle, and a plurality of slanted vanes connected to the concave surface of the deliector for intercepting a portion of the directed stream, said vanes being arranged to be deected in succession into said stream for continuously revolving said deliector and said stream around said tubular member.

3. In a sprinkler head, a conduit adapted to project a jet of fluid along an axis, a detiector member of conical shape with a plurality of vanes projecting from the side surface and curving from vertical planes which include the axis of said conical detlector member, and a resilient tubular member supporting said deector in spaced relation to said conduit and normally coaXial with the jet of luid and arranged to yieldably resist movement of said detlector member under the impact of the jet of fluid, said resilient tubular member being connected to said conduit at a point substantially below the discharge end of said conduit and extending upwardly around the conduit in spaced relation thereto and to a point adjacent said deilector member, said resilient tubular member and said deliector member defining an annular discharge opening therebetween.

4. A sprinkler head adapted to discharge a stream of uid in a rotary manner about said head comprising a conduit to project a jet of duid along an axis, a deector member of conical shape with a plurality of vanes projecting from the side surface and curving from vertical planes passing through the axis of said deiiector member, and a resilient tubular member supporting said deector member in spaced relationship to said conduit and normally coaxial with the jet of fluid, said resilient tubular member enclosing the area surrounding the projecting jet from a point substantially below the discharge end of said conduit to a point in close spaced relation to said deflector member to form an annular discharge opening, said sprinkler head being capable of a non-rotary gyratory motion against the yielding resistance of said support under impact of the jet of fluid on said vanes to cause said vanes to successively rock into intercepting relation to the jet of tluid and thereby discharge a stream of tluid in a rotary manner therefrom.

5. A sprinkler head adapted to be connected to a source of pressurized iluid, comprising a conduit having at its discharge end an orifice for jetting a stream of fluid, a flexible sleeve member connected at one end to said conduit in a region spaced from said discharge end and extending upward around the conduit beyond said discharge end, the bore of the sleeve member being of greater diameter than the conduit to permit the sleeve member to gyrate about said conduit, said sleeve member having a iiaring discharge opening at its other end, a conical deilector mounted on the sleeve member within said Haring discharge opening thereof, said deflector having a concave deecting surface for redirecting said stream outward at a predetermined discharge angle, and a plurality of vanes projecting from said concave surface and curving from planes which include the axis of said detiector for intercepting a portion of the redirected stream and causing said other end of said sleeve member to gyrate about a prolongation of the axis of said conduit to revolve the redirected stream about the sprinkler head.

6. A sprinkler head, comprising a rigid tubular conduit adapted to supply an upwardly directed jet of water, a nozzle operatively associated with said conduit and provided with a tubular wall surrounding said conduit and having a lower end secured thereto and the upper end free to oscillate about said conduit, said tubular wall having an outwardly aring upper end portion, a plug of inverted conical shape secured within said upper end portion, said plug having a concave side wall spaced from said upper end portion to define therebetween an annular passageway adapted to discharge the jet at a precise vertical angle, and vanes located within said passageway and projecting from said plug and curving from vertical planes passing through the axis of said plug, said vanes being adapted to move in reaction to the jet discharge together with said plug and the upper end of said nozzle for revolving the discharged jet.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,546,714 Buzbee July 21, 1925 2,325,280 Scherrer July 27, 1943 2,550,456 De Flon Apr. 24, 1951 2,613,993 Holden Oct. 14, 1952 2,634,163 Double Apr. 7, 1953 2,639,191 Hruby May 19, 1953 2,752,195 Whitehead June 26, 1956 2,760,825 Umbrieht Aug. 28, 1956 2,854,283 Hruby Sept. 30, 1958 2,930,531 Kennedy Mar. 29, 1960 

